Topic Covered: Defining the Self-Personal And Development Perspective On The Self Identity.
Objective: At the end of the lesson student be able t o.
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1. Identity the different ideas in psychology about the ”self”
2. Create your own definition of the “self” based on the definition from psychology
and.
3. Analyze the effects of various factors identified in psychology in the formation of
the self.
Lesson Proper: The Self as Cognitive Construct
Introduction: As discussed in the previous, every field of study, at least in the social science, have
their own research, definition and conceptualization of self and identify . Some are similar while
some specific only in the field. Each field also has thousands of research on self and identify as
well as related or synonymous terms.The trend of the lesson also seems to define the concept of
the self from a larger context (I,e culture and society) down to the individual. However it must be
pointed out that modern researchers acknowledge the contributions of each field and this is not
some sort of a nature vs. nature , society (culture vs individual/brain, and other social sciences
vs. psychology debate. Psychology may focus on the individual and the cognitive fuction,. But it
does not discount the context and other possible factors that effect the individual, for students
who take up psychology, discussion on theories, and development, among others actually take
at least one semester and there are still more to be learned about the concept of “self” the
lesson provides an overview of the themes of psychology regarding the sold concept.
Lesson: The Self as Cognitive Construct
Activity:
1. Define Self Personal and
 Its define who you are.
 2. Self Identity
 Self identity is who you see or define your self to be.
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Abstraction:
In confidence or in an attempt to avoid further analytical discussion, a lot of people say “I
am who I am” yet this statement still begs the question “if you are who are you that makes you
who you are.
William James (1890) was one of the earliest psychologist to study the self and
conceptualize the self as having two aspect the “I” and the “me” The “I” is the thinking, acting,
and feeling self(Gleitman, gross, and Reisberg 2011; Hogg and Vaughan 2010). The “me” on the
other hand, is the physical characteristics.
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And although self-esteem is a very important concept related to the self studies have shown
that it only has a collection not causality, to positive outputs and outlooks ( jhangiani and Tarry
2014). It can be argued that high or healthy self-esteem may result to an overall good
personality but it is not, and should not be, the only source of a person’s healthy perspective of
herself.
People with high esteem are commonly describe as adventurous, and adaptable in a lot of
situation. They also initiate activities and building relationships with people . However they may
also dismiss other activities that do not conform to their self-esteem. They may be bullies and
expirement an abusive behavior with drugs alcohol, and sex (jhangiani and tarry 2014).
The quality in the behavior and attitudes only proves the above-mention correlation.
Baumeister, smart, and Biden (1996) in the research on self-esteem should only be for rewarding
good behavior and other achievement and not for the purpose of merely trying to make
children feel better about themselves or to apprease them when they angry or sad ( jhangiani
and tarry 2014).
SELF SCHEMA
The self schema is not limited to the example above.It may also include
your interest,work,corse,age,name,and physical characteristics among others. As you grow and
adapt to the changes around you they also change. But they are not possitive receivers , they
actively shape and affect how you see,think, and feel about things (Gleitman,gross, and Reisberg
2011, Jhangiani and Tarry 2014).
Theories generally see the self and identify as metal constructs, create, and recreated in
memory (Oyserman,Elmore and Smith 2012). Current researchers point to the frontal lobe of the
braiy as the specific area in the associated with the process concerning the self (Oyserman,
Elmore, and Smith 2012).
Several psychologist, especially during the fields earlier development,followed this trend of
taught, looking deeper into the mind of the person to theories about the self, identify zself
concept,and in turn, one’s personality. The most influential of them is Sigmund Freud. Basically,
Freud saw the self, it’s mental processes, and ones behavior as the results of the Id, the Ego, and
the Superego.
However as mentioned earlier, one cannot fully discount the effects of society and culture
on the other theories and researchers try to understand the person by digging deeper into the
mind, they cannot fully discount the huge and important effects of the environment. As in the
above-mention definitions of the self, social interactions always have a part to play in who we
think we are. This is not nature vs nature but instead a nature-and-natue perspective.
Under the theory of symbolic interactions, G.H. Mead (1934) argued that the self is created
and develop through human interaction ( Hogg and Haughan 2010 ). Basically, there are three
reasons why self and identify are social product ( Oyserman, Elmore, and Smith 2012 ).
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1. We do not create ourselves out of nothing. Society helped in creating the
foundations of who we are and even if we make our choices. We will still operate in
our social and historical context in one way or the other. You may of course
transfer from one culture to another but parts of who you were will still affects you
and you will also have is adapt to the new social context. Try looking at your
definition of who you are and see where society had effected you.
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2. Whether we like to admit it on not we actually needs others to affirm and
reinforce who we think we are. We also need them as reference points about our
identity. One interesting examples is the social media interactions we have, in the
case of Facebook, there are those who will contiously or unconsciously btry for
garner more”likes” and it’s positive “reactions” and that can and will rainforce their
self-concept. It is almost like a battle between who got more friends,more views,
and trending topics. If one says he is a good singer but his performed and the
evaluation of his audience say otherwise, that will have an effects on that persons
idea of himself, one way or another.
3. What we think is important to us may also been influence by what is important in
our social or historical context. Education might be an important thing to your self
concept, you grew up in a family that valued education. Money might be important
to some because they may have grown in a low-income family and realized
emergencies. Being a nurse or a lawyer can be priority in your self-schema because
it is the in-demand course during your time.
Social interaction and group affiliation , therefore, are vital, factors in creating our selfconcept especially in the aspect of providing us with our identity or our perception of who we
are based on our membership to certain groups ( Shangiani and Tarry 2014 ). It is also
inevitable that we can have several social identities bthat those indentities can overlap, and that
we automatically play the roles as we interact with our groups.
There are times, however,we are aware of our self-concept; this is also called selfawaremess . Carver and Scheier (1981) Two types of self- awareness.(1)nthe private self on types
of self that can be aware of it: and (2) the public self on your image commonly regard towards
having a good presentation of yourself to others (Hogg and Vaughan 2010 ).
Self-awareness also present us with at least three other self-schema, The Actual idea, and
ought self. The “actual” is who you are at the moment, the “idea” self is who like to be and the
“ought” self is who you think you should be ( Higgins 1997 in Hogg and Vaughan 2010). One
has to find a solution to such instances, however, all three may be in line with one another.
Self-awareness may be positive or negative depending on the circumstances and our
course of action. Self awareness can keep you from doing something dangerous; In other
instances, self-awareness, self-awareness can be too much that we are concerned about being
observed and criticize by other, also know as self-consciousness ( Jhangiani and Tarry 2014 ). At
the other times , especially with large crowds, we may experience deinvidual accountability in
groups “(Festinger, Pepitone, and Newcombe 1952 ).
Zimbardo 1969 in (Jhangiani and Tarry 2014 ). A lot of people will attuned themselves with
the emotions of their group and because the large crowd also provides some kind of anonymity,
we may also lesson our self-control and act in ways that we will not do when we are alone. A
common example is a mass demonstration erupting into a riot.
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Our group identity and self-awareness also has a great impact on our self-esteem , one of
the common concepts associated with the self “self”. It is defined as our own positive or
negative perception or evaluation of ourselves ( Jhangiani and Tarry 2014; Gleitman , and
Reisberg 2011).
One of the ways in which our social relationship affects our self-esteem is through
social comparison. According to the social comparison theory, we learn about ourselves the
comparing aspects of ourselves with other people ( Jhangiani and Tarry Vaughan 2010 ).
The downward social comparison is the more common type of comparing ourselves with
others. As the name implies, we create a positive self-concept by comparing ourselves with
those who are worst off than us ( Jhangiani and Tarry 2014 ). By having the advantage, we can
raise our self-esteem. After comparison is the upward social comparison which is comparing
ourselves with those who are as well as psychological capabilities that makes who you are (
Gleitman, Gross, and Reisberg 2011 ).
Other concept similar to self are identity and self-concept. Identity is composed to
personal characteristics, social roles, and responsibilities, as well as affiliation that define who
one is ( Oyserman, Elmore, and Smith 2012 ). Self-concept is what basically comes to your mind
when you are asked about who you are ( Oyserman, Elmore, and Smith 2012 ).
Self-identity, and self-concept are not fixed in one for example when you are asked about
who you are, you can say “I was a varsity player in 5th Grade” which pertains to the past “ a
college student” Which may be the present and a “future politician” which is the future. They are
not also fixed for life nor and they ever-changing at every moment. Think of a malleable metal,
strong and hard but can be bent and molded in other shapes. Think about water. It can take and
shape of the container, but it it’s core it is still the some elements.
Carl Roger captured the idea in his concept of self-schema or as organized list or the
diagram similar to the one below.
Learning Activity:
Test 1: Fill in The Blank
1.This quality in the behavior and attitudes only proves the above mentioned correlations.
2. William James in ( 1890) is the earliest psychologist to study the self.
3. And although self-esteem is a very important concept related to the self study have shown
that It only has a correlation
4. William james he captured the concept of self-esteem.
5.It is define as our own positive or negative perception or evaluation of ourselves.
6.Downward social cimparison is the more common type of comparing ourselves with other’s.
7.By having the advantage we can raise our self-esteem.
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8.As the name implies, we create a positive self-concept by comparing ourselves.
9. Other concept similar to self are identity and self-concept.
10.In other stances, self-awareness can be too much that we are concerned about being
observed and criticize by other.
Test II: Multiple CChChoic
A. 1. Who research about self-esteem concluded that programs, activities, and parenting
styles to boost self-esteem in 1996?
A.Baumeister, Smart, and Biden
B. Jhangiani and Tarry
C. William James
D.Oyserman, Elmore, and Smith.
B. 2.Who argued that the self is created and developed through human interaction?
A. G.H. Mead
B. Elmore
C. Oyserman
D. Smith
A. 3. Who saw the self, it’s mental processes, and ones behavior as the result of the interaction
between the Id?
A. Sigmund Freud
B. G.H. Mead
C. Elmore
D. Gleitman
C. 4. Carver and Scheier, when did they identified the two types of self?
A. 2014
B. 2010
C. 1981
D. 1952
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C. 5. Which relationship affects our self-esteem?
A. Social Comparison Theory
B. Social Science
C. Social Comparison
D. Self-consciousness
D. 6. Who captured the idea of self-schema
A. Festinger
B. Pepitone
C. Reisberg
D. Carl Roger
C. 7. What is the two types of self?
A. Public Self
B. Private Self
C. Private thought and Public Imagine
D. All of the above.
D. 8. People with high self-esteem are commonly describe as.
A. Outgoing
B. Adventurous
C. Adaptable
D. All of the above
D. 9. What is the three self-schema
A. Agitation, Idea , ought self
B. Agitation, Dejected, Negative Emotions
C. Self, Identity, Self Concept
D. None of the above.
C. 10. self awareness may be ______________ and depending on the circumstances.
A. Positive.
C. A and B
B. Negative.
D. Anonymity
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Test III Matching Type
I. 1.Gross and Reisberg.
A. 2014
H. 2.Hogg and Vaughan.
B. 2012
J. 3.Carl Roger.
1997
C.
B. 4.Oyserman, Elmore, and Smith.
D. 1952.
A. 5.Jhangiani and Tarry.
E. 1969
C. 6.Higgins.
F. 1981
D. 7.Festinger, Pepitone, and Newcomb.
E. 8.Zimbardo.
2010
Scheier.
G. 1934
H.
F.9.Carver and
I. 2011
G. 10.G.H. Mead.
J. 1959
Test IV. Enumeration
(1-3.) What is the three research concluded on self-esteem by Baumeister,Smart,and
Boden(1996)?
1. Activities
2. Program
3. Parenting Style
(4-6). Give the three short meaning of self-schema.
4. The “actual” is who you are at the moment
5. The “idea” self is who like to be and
6. The “ought” self is who you think you should be
(7-8). Give the two perception or evaluation of ourselves.
7. Positive
8. Negative
(9-10). Give the two overall good personality.
9. Being Honest
10. Being Responsibility
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Test V. Discussion
Give a short essay in your own understanding about the lesson and discuss how it’s related to
your Self (10pts).
 In my own understanding about the lesson, it tells and describe our selves of who
are we and its focusses more about the self esteem that an individual have. In this
lesson I will relate it to my self of being me, being a version/true to my self,
because in the lesson all about describing and boosting confidence of everyone
selves.
Prepared By: ADOLFO,
UNDERSTANDING
THE SELF